Big Brother is watching, especially if you are renting a computer from Aaron’s, a national rent-to-own chain, according to a claim by one couple. Crystal and Brian Byrd were visited by an Aaron’s store manager who produced a photo of Brian using a laptop the couple had purchased from Aaron’s. The photo had apparently been taking remotely using the laptop’s webcam.

The manager showed up to take possession of the computer under the belief the couple missed their final payment. In reality, the couple not only made the final payment, but they did so a month early. The store simply failed to record the payment properly. Now instead of receiving a laptop, Aaron’s has now received papers in regards to a class-action lawsuit initiated by the couple.

The Byrds purchased a rent-to-own Dell Inspiron laptop from Aaron’s in 2010 without knowing that the laptop possessed software called PC Rental Agent. The software is offered by DesignerWare and was created specifically to help rent-to-own companies keep track of computers and reacquire them in situations where customers fail to pay. Aaron’s has been using the software since at least 2007.

As a result of the photo produced by the Aaron’s store manager, the couple called police who initiated an investigation which later concluded that the PC Rental Agent software allegedly allows the company to take webcam photos, screenshots, and log the keystrokes of users without a customer’s knowledge. The laptop is currently still in police custody as evidence though no criminal charges have been announced.

If the class-action lawsuit is certified, it would cover all customers of Aaron’s who “purchased, leased, rented or rent to own” computers from the store in addition to people who used the computers and had their communication and/or images “intercepted, accessed, monitored and/or transmitted” by Aaron’s.

Reader Comments

Kick some real arse, boys…. it won’t stop anything but it will make a nice splash and they will get more deceptive.

And take some extra money from those greedy people for me, too!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1161570828 Steve Moberg

the first thing i would have done was to wipe and reload windows anyway so whatever
lol

http://twitter.com/themanticore Manticore

This is why YOU READ THE FUCKING AGREEMENT.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DBCJUGCM4XP3BUUUGT4ROLTTDY Ted

Reading the agreement would not have helped you at all. The agreement does not disclose Aaron’s ability to remotely access, monitor, intercept, and collect your private data, It doesn’t disclose the data it harvests (keystrokes, webcam images, email, screenshots, etc). Lastly, it doesn’t seek your permission to collect any of this data. I’d say Aaron’s is screwed and will end up paying.

KyleW

Even better…. really f*** with them and load GNU/Linux…. :-)

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=768943463 Michael Fumich

its what i did

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_67GMMVC63D2UMUWZPF2EYTVF6Y len

lol, the software is installed at bios level, installing other os or reformat will not help, the software is installed on a chip soldered to the motherboard, So good luck with that wipe, The guy that had the picture from arrons would have been picking his teeth up from my floor….

Cplsyx

Please provide a source? The official website for “PC Rental Agent” says nothing of the sort…

Proud_momma_86

They did read the agreement! Why do you think they are able to sue them!?! I know these guys and they wouldn’t have gotten the thing if that was included in the lease!! Aaron’s should be ashamed of themselves!!